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Alpha Foundation for the Improvement of Mine Safety and Health announces $10 Million in research grant awards

September 30, 2013

The Alpha Foundation for the Improvement of Mine Safety and Health has announced approximately $10 million in research grant awards toward fulfilling its vision of enabling miners to be free of work-related injury and disease in the near future.

In January, the Foundation issued a call for concept papers that resulted in 160 submissions. Following an initial phase of review, a number of the concept papers were selected for development into full research proposals. Sixteen of the full research proposals (listed below) were then approved for funding by the foundation’s board of directors who each individually represent years of research expertise in mine safety and health. Final budgets are now being discussed with the award recipients. Throughout the process, submissions were thoroughly examined by independent review teams consisting of a diverse group of professionals from the health sciences and engineering communities. The review teams evaluated the submissions across multiple criteria to ensure applicability of the proposed solutions and the rigor of the research approaches.

“The Foundation has been most pleased with the depth of research and innovation evident in the proposals and the potential impact on safety and health needs in the mining industry,” said Dr. Michael Karmis, president of the foundation.

Grant agreement recipients by focus area

Safety

Colorado School of MinesNumerical Modeling Methodologies for Assessing Burst Potential in Coal Mines

Colorado School of MinesDevelopment of a New Rock Dust Sampling Instrument

University of KentuckyThe Application of Flooded Bed Dust Scrubbers to Longwall Mining Systems

University of UtahControl of Spontaneous Combustion Using Pressure Balancing Techniques